Illinois Supreme Court Strikes Down Six-Person Jury Civil Trials

A move to a six-person jury in Illinois civil trials has been struck down by the Illinois Supreme Court.

The law changing civil trials passed in 2014, but the high court found that it violated the state’s 1970 constitution, which stated that it wanted to preserve all elements of trial-by-jury that were in place at that time.

The court interpreted that to mean that 12-person juries are mandated under the constitution. That same law also raised pay for Illinois jurors, and the Supreme Court ruling strikes down those raises, too.